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Arts & Communication A perspective on art-based and academic research

Figure 2. Author’s experience of academic research at the UiO-Centre for Ibsen Studies. The academic research delves into the life and works of Henrik
Ibsen and is analyzed by employing diverse theories and methods tailored to the researchers’ claims and research questions.

discrimination and racism. The following is a story of the be an exploitation of other cultures and a continuation
importance of artists staying updated on the ever-evolving of colonialism. 31(14) Stealing from other cultures can
academic and political debates and discourses. be referred to as cultural appropriation. By borrowing
When I started my acting life in the 1980s, Peter Brook (“stealing”) elements from a marginalized or oppressed
was a ground-breaking director. Actors all over the world culture, artists can reinforce systems of oppression. Peter
embraced the opening lines in his book The Empty Space: Brook’s post-colonialistic approach to one of India’s largest
“I can take any empty space and call it a bare stage.” 30(p11) poems reflects both Brook and the time it was produced.
We kept on nodding with awe when Peter Brook’s This parallel is relevant when studying academic research,
Mahabharata, a 9-h dramatization of India’s most sacred as highlighted by the assertion that “how anyone thinks
poem, premiered in France in 1995. The play toured the determines how you read, write, speak, and research.” 33(p120)
world for 4 years, and the Sunday Times called it “one of The lens through which we perceive our material is vital
the theatrical events of the century.” 31(p69) However, amidst and decisive for shaping conclusions. In other words,
the acclaim, Indian director and critic Rustom Bharucha both artists and researchers are part of complex layers of
stated that Peter Brook’s Mahabharata exemplifies “one context, which is one of the major reasons for building
of the most blatant (and accomplished) appropriations a stronger connection between the work of the theater
of culture in recent years.” 32(p1642) Bharucha mentioned artists and the ongoing academic discussion. Critical
that stealing and borrowing from other cultures can thinking is fundamental in all kinds of research. While

Volume 2 Issue 2 (2024) 6 doi: 10.36922/ac.1807